The packaging, shipping, crating and display of bottled food products have traditionally involved cumbersome and expensive procedures. Packaging material costs, breakage, pilferage, bulkiness and space-consumption, retail display and the like have presented problems to the manufacturing and retail trades. Most bottled products, for example, are normally packaged and shipped in corrugated fiberboard containers with full cell partitions between the bottles. Such containers provide protection for the bottles but are expensive, are laborious to open for removal of the products, are bulky and are vulnerable to pilferage which may go undetected because containers within a box are not visible unless the box is opened.
Some of the shortcomings of corrugated fiberboard boxes have been eliminated by reducing the amount of corrugated fiberboard used and overlaying containers therein with heat-shrunk, transparent (or opaque) film-like material. This packaging technique reduces storage and shipping space required, decreases the package weight and offers visibility of the product within a package. Heat-shrunk, film-like material has been used for the most part for metal cans, paperboard cartons, and round glass bottle packaging. It would be highly desirable to use a filmlike type package for non-round glass bottles if a workable package were developed, and the present invention is directed to such end.
While the Applicants are aware of numerous patents and packaging techniques that relate to the art, from among the patents known to Applicants, those deemed most pertinent to the subject matter of the present invention include U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 6,489, Des. 21,390, Des. 38,430; 1,127,141; 1,155,972, Des. 92,426, Des. 175,858; 3,321,096; 3,347,365; 3,331,503; 3,532,214, Re. 27,212 and 3,746,160. The foregoing patents disclose various bottle configurations, fiberboard containers and heat-shrunk, film-like packages. However, none teaches or suggests the improved combination of the subject matter according to the present invention.